The present invention concerns ski carriers and, more particularly, a ski carrier that can be alternatively transported manually or by vehicle through being mounted thereon.
To enjoy a day of skiing, most skiers must travel to a skiing facility and must transport their skis from their home or lodging to the skiing facility. Many skiers travel to the skiing facility by automobile and must therefore have a ski carrier capable of carrying skis on the automobile. Once at the skiing facility, parking is often a substantial distance from the ski slopes. Therefore, there is a need for a ski carrier that permits the manual carrying of skis from the automobile to the slopes. In addition, automobile travel to a skiing facility is often preceded by an airplane flight which imposes varied demands on a ski carrier both for carrying and as baggage.
A number of types of vehicle-mounted ski carriers are available for transporting skis. In addition, a number of types of ski carriers are available for manually transporting skis. However, a ski carrier convenient for vehicle-mounting is often inconvenient as a manual ski carrier.
A typical ski carrier is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,171,759 to Wnek. This ski carrier, as with many other vehicle-mounted ski carriers, requires a relatively permanently mounted bracket on the vehicle. Vacationing skiers, not uncommonly, rent an automobile on which they wish to carry skis. Therefore, having a ski carrier which can be mounted on an automobile without the use of any complicated or relatively permanent additional mounting devices is much desired.
Many vehicle-mounted ski carriers expose skis to rain, wind, salt and object impacts due to following cars, causing damage to the skis. Hence, there is a substantial advantage in having a ski carrier that completely encloses and thus protects the skis. Particularly of further advantage, enclosing with a relatively rigid structure obviates the need to individually wrap skis to prevent edge damage during baggage handling during the course of airplane travel. Also, a ski carrier should be designed such that it cannot open accidentally, resulting in a pile of skis and poles on the ground or, worse yet, on the road. Further, the carrier should be lockable to secure the skis to a significant extent against theft.